Audition CS5.5 AKA Audition 4

As part of a strategic softening-up process, Adobe is releasing more information about the next version of Audition. Most people know that it's a cross-platform release, and a lot of people concerned with audio specifically also know that it has less audio-only related features than AA3.0.1 - this became rather clear from a public questionnaire that was released about a month ago. And if you have a Mac, you have a pretty good idea of what to expect anyway - except for the majority of the stuff in the link that follows, because it wasn't in the beta.

So, the latest slice of information, which shows very clearly where Audition is, presently at least, heading can be viewed here. Anybody with a long memory going back to the takeover days might well wonder what took them so long, but whatever...

At some stage fairly soon I will arrange a feature list for comparison purposes, but if you go to the NAB show next week and visit the Adobe stand, they will tell you more, and presumably show you too. But that's hardly surprising - they've also let slip that there will be an official product announcement on April 11 - ie, next week!

Aha.  So that's what it's all about!  And about time too - I think this was what people expected to see the first time there was a link between the apps, way back.

I have to say they've done a neat balancing act between making Audition "audio-for-video" while not totally alienating their existing user base - hopefully!

How this is going to compete in the marketplace with video apps that already have a substantial built-in audio support remains to be seen (you don't have to spend a lot either).  I guess it will appeal to those wanting the best rather than "good enough"!

Well it's no secret that it's been rebuilt from the ground up to get it dual-platform. And various promises have been made regarding future developments, but that is still an unfolding field. And to be fair, there are some other major improvements, even in the basic system (as Mac users will have seen it), and some of those are not to be sneezed at, like the non-modal operation.

I will say though that if I can get the feature comparison list sorted out, I'm pretty sure that it will cause some comment, to say the very least!

I honestly don't understand this focusing into video... better considering another solution like Pro Tools or Cubase at this point...

I think the focus on video is more to move the product into a new user base.  It's about improving appeal to more people, and this way they are improving the product for both audio & video users, sales increase, Adobe smiles.